[Haskell-cafe] PhD at age 45?

[Andrey Chudnov]

Dennis,
I think it would make sense for you to try and flesh out the details of 
the kind of "work that interests" you. I'm sorry, but what you have 
right now seems to be quite vague. I remember you mentioning that you 
wanted to teach in your previous post. So if that's really what you 
want, you don't have to have a PhD (although, of course, it's better to 
have one). I know several teaching professors (yeah, that's the term we 
use for the professors that don't engage in research) that don't have a 
PhD (only MSc) and are great at what they do. So, if I were you, I would 
try and look for adjunct professor positions: if you are good at 
teaching, the absence of a PhD probably wouldn't matter; if you are not, 
it's not like you would have a lot of time in grad school to work on 
that anyway.

Also, "good pay" is generally not an attribute of academic jobs.

On 12/03/2013 02:43 PM, Dennis Raddle wrote:
> A more specific question than my last post. I guess I'm wondering if 
> it's a good idea to begin a PhD in CS at age 45 (currently having a BS 
> in CS). My goal is to obtain work that interests me, work that really 
> draws on the skills one develops in a PhD program. Work in academia is 
> hard to obtain, I understand, but I could take an industry job. I'm 
> wondering if I'll just be postponing a job with no financial gain 
> afterward and poor prospects for work. Or if there is ageism that will 
> work against a guy coming out of school at age 52.
>
> Or, if it will truly lead to an interesting job with good pay.